Top Headlines | Marketing Options, Pilger Update and Western Water Forecast

Producers Have Options For Marketing Calves

With a strong cattle market, what should producers do with their weanlings? Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University livestock market economist, tells the Oklahoma Farm Report that producers will have several decisions to make. In the current situation, he believes there is more than one good alternative available.

Before making the decision to sell at weaning, Tonsor encourages producers to consider their other options by comparing that option to background that steer and keeping it all the way through the feedyard.

USDA Provides Boost to Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

U.S. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden recently announced the implementation of new farm bill measures and other policy changes to improve the financial security of new and beginning farmers and ranchers, reports National Hog Farmer. Harden also unveiled www.usda.gov/newfarmers, a new website that will provide a centralized, one-stop resource for beginning farmers.

Snow-Capped Peaks Foretell The Future

Every winter, Westerners look to the mountains and may not realize they’re peering into the future. More snow cap means more water come spring and summer. Many lives and livelihoods depend on nature’s uneven hand.

Earlier this month, USDA’s National Water and Climate Center released the year’s final forecast which shows the West divided into a wet north and dry south. Washington, most of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and the northern parts of Colorado and Utah are expected to have near normal or above normal water supplies through the rest of summer, according to the forecasts. Far below normal stream flows are expected for the southern parts of Oregon and Utah, southwestern Idaho, California, Arizona, New Mexico and western Nevada.

Pilger Update—Cattle Operations Take Hit

Jeff Dinklage knew all hell would break lose when the radar on his smart phone displayed returns of a deep magenta color near Pilger, NE.

"I could just tell it was a very serious cell," he told DTN. "I went to my basement." After twin tornadoes obliterated Pilger and destroyed feedlots between that town and Wisner to the east, Dinklage and his family arose from the basement unscathed. His farm's future is not so certain.

Trending Gallery: 180+ Photos of Ranch Dogs

For a lot of ranchers, the rule of thumb is that wheresoever they go, so go their dogs. Trusty, loyal and helpful, these four-legged, furry friends are an integral part of ranching families and the ranching tradition. Whether it’s a cattle dog, sheep dog, hunting dog or just a family pet, dogs are truly “man’s best friend."

This reader-submitted gallery features 180+ photos that honor a rancher's best friend -- his or her dog. See the photos here.